Police beat for June 24, 2008

Tuesday

Jun 24, 2008 at 12:41 AMJun 24, 2008 at 6:10 AM

Dunnellon man killed in traffic accident
A 76-year-old Dunnellon man has been killed in a single-vehicle rollover accident on U.S. Interstate 80 about 10 miles west of Elko, Nev.
The Nevada Highway Patrol says John Berner Jr. was eastbound on the interstate at about 1 p.m. on Sunday when he allowed his 2002 Chevrolet pickup to drift onto the dirt shoulder where it struck a metal road marker.
The patrol says he swerved back to the left but overcorrected to the right and then back to the left again, causing the vehicle to overturn.
Berner was wearing a seat belt but still sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash remained under investigation.
OCALA
Boy arrested after grandfather misses gun
Sheriff's deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy Sunday after his grandfather reported his .357-caliber Magnum revolver stolen.
According to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report, the man had declined to press charges another time the Smith & Wesson was missing, but the second time it happened he wanted to teach his grandson a lesson.
The juvenile told deputies a man in a blue or green Chevrolet approached him on the street asking to buy a gun. The teen said he sold it to the man for $5, even though the two had agreed on a $95 price for the revolver.
Officials transported him to the juvenile assessment center on charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
OCALA
Woman in bikini steals purses
Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating a report that a girl or woman in a pink and brown bikini snatched two purses containing property from four wedding guests Sunday at Rainbow Springs State Park.
Guests noticed the purses, wallets, cell phones and personal items missing after the ceremony. A man who had left his belongings in one of the missing purses told deputies he tried to follow the person he thought took them, but someone else approached him about a car crash nearby and he was distracted, according to a sheriff's office report.
A charge for about $14 at a Shell gas station appeared on one of the stolen credit cards soon after.
If she is caught, deputies will charge the suspect with grand theft and financial fraud.
OCALA
Burglars taunt neighbors who try to intervene
Two men stole $1,363 worth of tools and equipment from a home at 2:25 p.m. Sunday on the 1000 block of Northeast 33rd Street, according to a report from the Marion County Sheriff' Office.
According to the report, neighbors saw two men carting items out of the house and asked what they were doing. A neighbor told one of the burglars he was going to call the homeowner to see if they had permission to be there.
"If I'm not supposed to be here, what are you gonna do about it?" the man reportedly said.
One of the men fled northbound on foot and the other left in an old white minivan.
A lawnmower, an air conditioning unit, a computer and some golf clubs were among the items stolen, according to the report.
OCALA
Troopers campaign to teach drivers to pull over
Florida Highway Patrol troopers are making a push to enforce a law requiring motorists to move over for emergency vehicles by the side of the road, according to a highway patrol media release.
The statewide Move Over Florida campaign began Monday and will continue through Sunday. Troopers will be writing more warnings and citations for drivers who break the move over law. The law requires vehicle operators to move over one lane when they pass an emergency vehicle on the shoulder with its emergency lights flashing or to slow down at least 20 mph below the speed limit.
"We believe it will make a difference in the life of an emergency worker," said Electra Theodorides-Bustle, executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the media release. "Law enforcement is already one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs a person can choose without the added worry of a motorist passing you on the roadway and creating more hazards."

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